The 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, scheduled to take place from 11 to 13 February 2026 in Marrakech, Morocco, alongside the launch of the “Red Card to Child Labour” campaign, comes at a decisive moment for global efforts to eradicate child labour. Despite significant progress since 2000, when child labour rates were nearly twice as high, the international community has fallen short of its commitments, failing to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of ending child labour by 2025.
Currently, an estimated 138 million children worldwide remain engaged in child labour, with around 54 million involved in hazardous work that threatens their health, safety and development. These figures highlight the urgency of renewed and coordinated global action to address persistent gaps and accelerate progress toward elimination.
Hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco in partnership with the International Labour Organization, the conference will convene a broad range of stakeholders, including governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, civil society actors, international organizations, private sector representatives, academics, and children and young people. The gathering aims to reinvigorate global momentum and strengthen collective strategies to end child labour through dialogue, innovation and collaboration.
In the lead-up to the conference, the ILO and the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco in Geneva will host an online press briefing to inform media representatives about the conference’s objectives, agenda and key themes. The briefing will also officially announce the “Red Card to Child Labour” campaign, a global awareness initiative led by the ILO to sustain international attention and public engagement on the issue.
Launched during the conference, the campaign will run throughout 2026, including activities linked to the World Day Against Child Labour in June. Together, the conference and the campaign are intended to strengthen political commitment, mobilize stakeholders and renew global resolve to eliminate child labour and protect the rights and futures of children worldwide.
